


Loss of Innocence

by ShuaWrites



Series: HEARTBEAT! Origin Stories [1]
Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 02:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuaWrites/pseuds/ShuaWrites
Summary: A short-story detailing Sakis's traumatic experiences from his young adult days.





	Loss of Innocence

My earliest memories have to be ones from the Den, sadly. I’m a Yang Siren who was dragged into an army against my will, and I resented every minute of my existence while I was there. Sometimes I’d wish that I would just drop dead from all the exercise regimens they had us do, but unluckily I was born resilient and brimming with vigor. You’re asking me why I had thought such things? Well, let us just agree on one thing here: those thoughts no longer haunt my mind ever since we met. But you want to know about my past, so I will indulge you with my memories; my name is Sakis Sinatra, and this is my story.

I was born and raised in the town of Middeluge, a fishing town in the Den, like most Water and Toxin Mogwai were. I worked as a fisher at the time, and although it was simple labor, it was rather enjoyable and fulfilling. We were responsible for supplying most of Los Monstruos with their fish; those Cat Siths always enjoyed their seafood after all, not that I mind, of course. It was an easy life at the time. I took joy in what was given to me and spent my days working the waters. I even took up vegetable gardening to supply myself with something else than just what I reeled in from the seas. The impurities in the water proved to be somewhat troublesome, so I had to find a means to purify the water at home. 

It took some time to set-up, but I had built a homemade water purifier using a watering can, some tubing, and an open fire. You must be wondering why I am going on about such miniscule things, but I implore you to ponder on the little things in life and to not take things for granted. But I digress.

In any case, I and my Siren brethren were living life as we saw fit at the time, and everything was rather swell, at least for me. I even partook in the arts, painting out landscapes and buildings, although they were rather amateurish, to say the least. But everything changed once a certain Yin Kunekune began to make her debut as General of the Den Militia: Yorshk. She’d go on to enlist the Sirens into the Militia, replacing most of the existing guards with my brothers and sisters, and I was one of them. Frankly, I insisted on staying in Middeluge and continuing my life undisturbed, but it seemed they did not like taking no as an answer.

I was always bulkier and bigger than most Sirens, so all they saw me as was the prime example of what a Den Soldier should be. They never bothered to look at me deeper than just the surface level of my being, and whenever I refused to join them, only bewilderment and vexation struck them, pondering on why such a man would not go on to fight for their homeland. “But you got to!” one shouted as they all began chanting soon after.

Some people get their amusement by dismantling and destroying one’s dreams, but that’s just life, and I do not let it get me down. Because this world will just keep spinning around whether we will it or not. So, without causing much more of a fuss, I complied with their wishes in hopes that they would not start becoming anymore irked by my refusals.

However, there was one that did not join into the uproar of the other Sirens. He was rather small compared to the rest of the Mogwai, and hid in the back of the crowd with dejected eyes. There were no words shared between us at the time, but I knew that he was being rounded up just as I was and being forced to accept our new life as Den Soldiers. His name was Kosta, a young Siren who was dragged into something that would define him as a person, whether he accepted it or not.

We were then herded out of the town and transported into the Den Castle where we would begin our various training regimens and be assigned our ranks and barracks. The martial and physical training were never too challenging for me; however, I dedicated my time to assist Kosta with his own challenges and struggles. He used to ask me why I didn’t stand up against the other Sirens, saying that I could’ve wiped the floor with them. “It would’ve caused more trouble for all parties involved, and I disdain fighting to begin with,” I would always say to him whenever he brought up the subject. He never liked that answer. I guess he must've thought that I was some sort of gladiator due to my bulk.

It always irritated him to witness me let the other soldiers and guards push me around by either tormenting me physically, berating and belittling my existence with words, or destroying pieces of my artwork and trampling on my small gardens that I kept stowed away. “Just fight back!” he would urge me on. It got to the point where these acts of harassment were becoming daily occurrences. I would always come back to my barracks after my day of duties to see my bedding and furniture trashed. Sometimes they’d have me witness them destroying my belongings after I had completed my duties early.

But I stood there, letting them have a ball in my room before I got down on my hands and began to collect the broken fragments of what was spared. I spent hours reconstructing and repairing what was broken, oftentimes having little chance to spend doing anything else before having to go to sleep for the next day. “Why won’t you fight back…? Aren’t you a man, Sakis…?” Kosta inquired after everything had been said and done, though what truly did it mean to be a man? I used to respond with, “I never once in my life had said that I am a man. I am me, and I am stuck here dying,” which caused Kosta to run out of the room sobbing every time.

I always pondered on what they thought being a “man” meant, but I never believed in such superficial concepts. In my eyes, there was never a defined way that someone should act. As long as you were honest with yourself and carried yourself with pride, then that’s all that mattered in the end. The belittlement and harassment were more of an annoyance to me than anything, I did not care if they did not respect me as the strong and fearless Siren they mistook me for at the beginning. However, it was ailing Kosta deeply.

The last time that the Sirens were there to trash my room, I waited for them to be finished, and Kosta saw that I once again did not stand up for myself. Before he left the scene weeping, I reached out for him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him towards me. I enveloped the young Mogwai within my arms, taking him in a warm and tight embrace as I felt Kosta’s wet, tearstained face pressed against my chest. I brushed the back of his head, consoling him and trying to put him at ease. “Do not worry over materialistic things, do not bare a burden that is not for you to carry to begin with,” I said to him as solicitously as I could to calm him.

“I don’t want to see you suffer any longer Sakis…! And it doesn’t help that we’re stuck here…” he said while he wept and trembled, but I just kept embracing and consoling him. “We can just leave while the night is still young, Kosta. We do not have to stay chained here and play Devil’s advocate against their gospels of lies,” I stated. The young Siren canted his head back to look me in the eyes, hoping to see an inkling of truth in them. And what he was met with was a kind and nurturing smile, a hopeful gleam shining within my eyes.

To be truthful, I’d been plotting to run away from the Den ever since I was first “enlisted” and I always yearned to stow Kosta away with me. He always seemed unhappy here, I did not wish to see him suffer any longer. I thought, that maybe, that night would be the opportune time to do so. 

So we fled…

It wasn’t a breeze either. Sneaking away in a castle at night while having white fur wasn’t exactly the smartest decision at the time, but I managed to pull it off as you see me sitting before you. And let me forewarn you, I was discovered right away. My only guess as to why is that they were predicting that I’d do something rash after all the torment they forced me to go through. But I kept at it without a moment’s hesitation, never looking back once. However, Kosta did, and what he was met with were the glares of animosity fueled eyes. 

We made it through the castle and entered the Capital City A mob of the castle guards that were on duty that night pursued Kosta and I as we kept making our way towards the outskirts of the Den. The Cerberus Gatekeeper that watched over one of the many exits stood tall, attempting to intimidate us to freeze us in our tracks. Though I knew better, stopping then was to give up my life. But still my grasp on Kosta’s hand loosened.

The sounds of guns rang throughout the area in a cacophonic symphony in the night; large metal darts shot towards us, their barbs slashing at my body as one of the harpoons grazed along the right side of my head. It had skewered and ripped off my two, right ears, and all that was left then was a deafening numbness. But I would not let my escape be in vain.

I had maneuvered past the Gatekeeper, his large size proving to be his greatest downfall as I had simply slid underneath him. I stepped towards the rift that connected the Den to Outset, the outer world if you will. It was the Gatekeeper’s job to make sure nobody enters through these portals or that anyone exists without explicit authority to do so. However, once I was nearing the light at the end of the tunnel, I had finally noticed that Kosta wasn’t standing next to me. 

I turned, and wished I hadn’t; my body froze from paralyzing agony All I could see was Kosta impaled by multiple harpoons being reeled in towards the violent horde of Sirens. Though his body was the only thing separating me from the crowd, I still felt all of their glares glued onto my very being. But I couldn’t keep standing still; I had to leave, or I would meet the same fate as he did. 

I turned, taking another step forward, and entered the portal without fear of where I may end up. Upon walking through, I was met with a calm, cool breeze that caused the limbs of trees to shiver, their autumn leaves plucked from their branches as they were swept along with the wind. My legs buckled, my knees giving out as I fell onto the ground that was blanketed by the maple leaves. My eyes closed shut, my right hand rose and formed into a tight fist before I pounded it against the earth. 

My forehead pressed against the ground as I just wanted to scream and shout, though I choked back on my tears that rolled off of my chin, the drops falling onto the leaves with a soft pitter-patter. I heard footsteps moving towards me, though I wasn’t able to accurately tell from which direction they were coming from due to my wounded ears on the right side of my head.

I sat up, glancing up at two figures that stood before me. One was a freckled, olive-skinned Yang Cat Sith. “Hey man, you don’t look too hot, are you alright?” he asked me at the time, though he knew that I was far from alright. The other was a human male who was tan-skinned and had black, curly hair that covered the upper right-side of his face. His sapphire eyes showed concern for my well-being. “Can you tell me where I am?” I inquired before the Cat Sith squatted down in front of me.

“We are in Cirruwa Forest,” the human answered. “Oliver, you should try to heal him, I think he’s hurt…” he stated. The Cat Sith tapped the bottoms of his feet with his hands, And flames would sprout up from his feet, the embers pooling against his palms as he moved his hands to caress my head with his warm touch. The heat from the embers were comforting and brought a sense of calmness within my being as the wounds on my head began to heal. The wetness of my tear stained cheeks pressed against his palms while he continued to treat my injuries.

He then removed his hands from my head before he stood up, and the two outstretched their hands towards me to help me out off of the ground. “I’m Cass, and this is my Mogwai partner, Oliver,” the human spoke, offering me a small and gentle smile. “Who might you be?” he questioned, I looked up at the two of them with hopeful eyes. “Thank you…” I uttered before I took their hands into my grasp and stood up on my feet. 

I threw my arms around their bodies, pulling them both into a tight embrace as Cass would struggle to free himself. “Too tight…! Too tight!” he pleaded whilst Oliver simply returned the favor. Though when I looked towards the maple trees, I could see the tail of a Siren that was small in stature begin to move deeper within the forest.


End file.
